Best Methods to Migrate AOL to Office 365 Account Directly

Why Users Perform AOL to Office 365 Migration?

Despite its years of presence, AOL lacks high-end features, integration with collaborative suites, administrative controls, and security. There are more reasons why users prefer Office 365 over AOL and make the switch:

• Unlimited email management across devices and smart, robust search filters.
• Centralized access to all the data with Office 365 in a free or subscription plan.
• Improved security and login management with the Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).
• O365 has compliance-ready archives, DLP support, data retention policies, and many more features.

Real Case:

“A marketing firm handling over 100 AOL mailboxes decided to save AOL in Outlook 365. They needed it to consolidate project communications under a secure, unified platform. The shift helped them reduce extra labor costs by 35% in the first quarter.”

Which Methods Help Migrate AOL to Office 365?

Obviously, there is no direct way to move emails between AOL and Office 365 clients. It is only possible with the help of IMAP connectivity. However, this manual method has some prerequisites, limitations, and concerns. On the other hand, there is a professional tool available for the email migration from AOL mailboxes to Office 365 account, securely and reliably.

IMAP Prequisites and Limitations With Manual Migration

Before proceeding with the manual steps, users must know what IMAP transfers support and what not. It is necessary because if your team relies on any other AOL data other than emails, then you probably need a more advanced solution. Let’s look at the data suited for migration with IMAP from AOL to Office 365:

• Supported AOL Mail Data: Emails in the Inbox and custom folders
• Unsupported AOL Mail Data: Contacts, Calendar, and Rules/Filters

Preconditions to Migrate AOL Emails to Microsoft 365

• Admin access and credentials for both source (AOL) and target (M365) servers.
• Add users for Office 365 mailboxes in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and assign licenses to them.
• Adjust the message size limit before you migrate AOL to Office 365 mailboxes.
• Also, ensure to create a public folder, enable In-place archive, and verify the custom domain depending on the mailbox to save data.

Now, proceed to find the step-by-step procedures for the migration methods to follow.

Native Approach to Forward AOL Email to Office 365

This common method uses the Outlook Web App or desktop application of your choice for the data migration. The steps involved are:

In OWA:

1. Log in to your Office 365 account and open Outlook Web Access.
2. Then, in Settings, open the search bar, type Accounts. Select and open Connected Accounts.
3. A window appears. Fill in your AOL login details (email and password) and click ‘OK’ to continue.
4. Further, a notification pops up to confirm “Connect the email accounts”? Click OK.
5. With both source and target accounts synced, AOL emails are available within Outlook 365.

In Desktop Outlook:

This process demands that you first export AOL emails to PST and then import the output PST to Office 365. Continue with these to migrate AOL to Office 365:

1. Access MS Outlook and sync with email and password of AOL Mail account you need data from.
2. Then, use the IMAP setup for the same with the server details as:
• Incoming: imap.aol.com (Port 993)
• Outgoing: smtp.aol.com (Port 465)
3. After the AOL Mail account is linked, proceed to the File for Open&Export.
4. Further, choose the Import/Export window and with Export to File option, proceed.
5. Pick the PST format, choose your AOL mailbox, and click Next to browse a saving path.
6. Finally, press Finish to save AOL email as PST on your chosen location.

Later, using the Network Upload method with the help of Azure AzCopy and SAS URL, import PST to Office 365. Or, you can go with the Drive Shipping method as per your preference.

Other Shortcomings of the Manual Method

• The process is time-consuming and tricky, especially for users from a non-technical background.
• There are high chances of human error in these methods, either due to a lack of permission or technical difficulties.
• Chances of data corruption and ways are unsuitable for large AOL mailboxes with heavy attachments.

Direct Migrate AOL to Office 365 with Expert Tool

For large-scale, uninterrupted transfers, especially when there are multiple user accounts, a professional tool is better. SysInfo AOL Mail Backup Tool enables direct migration to Office 365 without Outlook. It supports batch transfers, folder structure preservation, and offers several custom filters to all users. Moreover, it provides secure browser authentication to protect credentials and even has a demo version for evaluation first.

Migrate AOL Emails to Microsoft 365: How? With these steps:

1. Launch AOL Backup Tool and →sign in to your AOL Mail with right details.
2. For multiple accounts, Import CSV, pick IDs, and press Next.
3. Further, opt all relevant AOL folders and files to migrate and click Next.
4. From the available options, choose Office 365, input email, and login. (Ensure you are logged in to your Office 365 account beforehand on the web.)
5. Afterward, pick the specific filters that are relevant for your migration.
6. At last, pick the destination mailbox and click Convert to finish the AOL to Office 365 migration.

Conclusion

It may seem complex to migrate AOL to Office 365, but with the right tools and solutions, it becomes easy. While Outlook works for individuals, businesses with large sensitive data find it unreliable. Hence, a professional tool is best, ensuring continuity, data security, and quick migration. Also, for multi-user migration, talk to our expert to ensure smooth transfers.

Frequently Asked Questions

About The Author:

Suman Rawat

Suman Rawat is a technical content writer and expert in the fields of email migration, data recovery, and email backup. Her passion for helping people has led her to resolve many user queries related to data conversion and cloud backup.